Secret ingredient: Rice paper makes darn good vegan bacon

Justina Huddleston is an editor and the head writer for TDmonthly Magazine. She has been a freelance writer for several years, though her real passion is cooking. You can see the recipes she creates on her vegan food blog, A Life of Litt...

Homemade vegan bacon that tastes like the real thing? Yes, it is possible

Bacon is something basically everyone obsesses over, and can you blame us? It's the perfect blend of crispy-chewy-smoky-salty-sweet and seems to make just about every food it's added to even better.

Even if you abstain for health or religious or vegan reasons, you probably still crave it.

Sure, you can buy the weird veggie bacon that looks (and tastes) like Play-Doh and has about a million ingredients you can't pronounce. Or you can opt for tempeh bacon, which has a spot-on flavor but comes nowhere close to real bacon when it comes to texture.

You're left with a pile of crispy, umami-bomb bacon that's cholesterol- and saturated fat-free, vegan and vegetarian and that doesn't contain pork. But it'll still add that amazingly craveable smoky-sweet flavor to any food you pair it with (and it's perfect for snacking on its own).

Even better? A pack of rice paper is super-inexpensive. You can find it in the Asian aisle of your grocery store, at most Asian grocery stores or on Amazon.com.

It takes minimal effort for maximum flavor. What are you waiting for? Try vegan rice paper bacon today, and prepare to be amazed.